Education Advocates to Honor School Board Member

Education advocates, administrators and leaders are expected to gather for an evening of live casino games, dining, dancing and fundraising this Saturday at the Boca Raton Marriott at Town Center.

CollegePATH, Inc., organizers of the Annual Scholarship Fundraiser: Showcasing Scholarly Achievement, will also honor Palm Beach County School Board Member Dr. Debra Robinson with its 2016 Education Champion Award. The event begins at 7 p.m. “Dr. Robinson has been an advocate for a high quality education for over two decades,” said CollegePATH Board President Kimba Williams. She “has also been a pillar in the black community, advocating achievement equity for students of color through the work of various organizations including the Progressive Association of Neighbors, the Palm Beach Chapter of the NAACP, and the Coalition for Black Student Achievement.”

Her advocacy has included service on various Parent-Teacher Associations, School Advisory Committees/Councils, and the School District of Palm Beach County where she has served as a Board member since 2000, Williams added.

Robinson has lead the charge for a focus on reading instruction, a new high school in Riviera Beach, fairness in the application of disciplinary rules, algebra instruction for all 8th graders, student oriented training for teachers, and the use of data to drive district decisions, she said.

Founded in 2008, CollegePATH is dedicated to making college education accessible to students who are “Bright, Brown, And Motivated”: students of color, who may also be low-income, and/or first-generation-to-college, with GPA’s of at least 2.75 according to information from the organization. To date, 100 percent of their students have enrolled into great four-year colleges and universities, organization officials said.

All proceeds will benefit the CollegePATH Scholarship Fund, monies granted to deserving students in their efforts to get to and through college. “While we have made tremendous strides in increasing the number of students of color that go on to college, over 75 percent of our students don’t qualify for state aid, federal aid, or significant college aid,” Williams said. “These families are severely disadvantaged financially and it’s disheartening to see students work so hard to attain average GPA’s of 3.4 and above and be admitted to college, only to realize they can’t afford it.”

The scholarships allow students to invest in tutoring and test prep services beforehand so that they can increase their scholastic aptitude and qualify for more academic funding, organizers said. “That, combined with the individual college advising that each student receives means we’re really teaching them ‘how to fish’ and that will serve them for a lifetime,” Williams said.

For tickets and more information to CollegePATH’s Annual Scholarship Fundraiser: Showcasing Scholarly Achievement, go to collegepathusa.org or contact CollegePATH, Inc. at services@collegepathusa.org or call 561-755-7284.